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Popa Chubby, born Ted Horowitz, has been hard rocking the blues in his fierce and soulful way for more than 25 years. Over the course of a career that dates back to 1994, he has been a force of to be reckoned with on the guitar, and his tempestuous, soulful playing has never been more powerful. An imposing figure with a shaven head, tattooed arms, a goatee and a performance style he describes as “the Stooges meets Buddy Guy, Motörhead meets Muddy Waters, and Jimi Hendrix meets Robert Johnson,” Popa Chubby is an endearing character who is one of the genre’s most popular figures.

His career has always been about moving forward and carving a place for himself in the imposing terrain of the music business, overcoming odds to continue growing and maturing as a creative force. He has built a constantly increasing base of fans across the world, where in many territories he is a star. A native New Yorker, Horowitz’s first gigs were in the NYC punk scene as a guitarist for what he reflects was a “crazy Japanese special effects performance artist in a kimono called Screaming Mad George who had a horror-movie inspired show.” Right from the start he was immersed in rock ‘n’ roll as theater, and learned from George and others playing CBGB’s at the time that included the Ramones, the Cramps, Richard Hell, whose band, the Voidoids he joined that rock ‘n’ roll should be dangerous. He reflects, “Musicians like the Ramones and the Sex Pistols weren’t just bands. They were a threat to society.”

The Blues however was the foundation of his playing style. He recalls, “Since I’d grown up on Hendrix, Cream and Led Zeppelin, when I started playing blues in New York clubs I understood that the blues should be dangerous, too. It wasn’t just from playing in punk bands. Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters were dangerous men. They’d cut or shoot you if they thought it was necessary, and Little Walter packed a gun and wouldn’t hesitate to use it. That danger is a real part of the Blues and I keep it alive in my music.”

Popa Chubby is his own man for better or worse. He reflects, “I’m living in a wild time, and that is where the inspiration is drawn from. There are my issues, but the picture is much bigger than me and my situation. Everything is breaking down in the world. The lines are being redefined. We all need something.”

The Sol Roots band performs a mix of New Orleans funk, raw blues, energetic rock, deep grooves, and southern soul. Sol is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist who has toured with many roots, funk, and blues legends around the world as a part of Music Maker Revue.

The Sol Roots band has performed at many premier festivals and venues across the east coast US, and have shared the stage with acts such as Jon Cleary, Soulive, Dumpstaphunk, The Wood Brothers, Robert Randolph, Eric Lindell, Booker T Jones, Walter "Wolfman" Washington, Shemekia Copeland, Jackie Greene and more.

Paying homage to the greats, and with a love of Universal Music as the guiding light, Sol steps out on a path with a powerful unique group of talented musicians.

Sol Roots is an official Home Grown Music Network artist and a "Next Generation" Music Maker Relief Foundation artist.